Middletown stops Clear Lake 27-6 in league finale

LAKEPORT -- Austin Benson ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Ben Pike passed for two more, connecting with tight end Tyler Rockwell twice, as the Middletown Mustangs pulled away in the second half to beat the Clear Lake Cardinals 27-6 in the North Central League I varsity football finale for both teams Friday night in Lakeport.

It was also the season finale for the Cardinals, who finish 3-4 in league play and 5-5 overall. Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said his team will not apply for an at-large berth in the upcoming North Coast Section Division IV playoffs.

Middletown (5-2, 7-3) finishes third in the NCL I standings behind champion Fort Bragg and runner-up St. Helena and will apply and should receive an at-large berth.

"It's a chance to redeem ourselves for a couple of the league games we lost," Middletown coach Bill Foltmer said of a likely playoff appearance.

Middletown's veteran coach said he was fortunate to get out of Don Owens Stadium with a win given how well Clear Lake's defense played.

"The kids just never gave up," Meyer said not only of his players' effort on Friday night, but for the entire 2012 season. "We did what we could do and we did our best. We lost some key players before the season and during the season, but we never quit."

It didn't look like the Mustangs were going to have any trouble early on as they scored on their first possession following a Clear Lake punt. Middletown drove 55 yards on seven Austin Benson runs, the final one from 6 yards out.

After that quick score, the game turned into a big-time grind for both teams.

Clear Lake closed to 7-3 on an Omar Vazquez 23-yard field goal with 7:19 left in the first half. Middletown answered with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped by a Pike 15-yard play-action touchdown pass to Rockwell. The Mustangs overcame 20 yards in penalties during their march down the field, one that used 6:45 on the clock.

With only 34.1 seconds left in the first half, it looked like 13-3 would be the halftime score. The Cardinals had other ideas. Aided by a Middletown pass interference penalty, Clear Lake hurriedly worked its way into field goal range for Vazquez, who split the uprights from 44 yards away -- and the booming kick might have been good from 60 -- as time expired in the first half.

"No penalties last week and all of a sudden we're the Oakland Raiders this week," Foltmer said of the 100 yards in penalties assessed against the Mustangs during the game.

Middletown put its stamp on the game to open the second half, taking the kickoff and marching 65 yards in 13 plays, the final one a Benson 1-yard run on third-and-goal. The Mustangs twice converted on fourth-and-one to keep the drive alive. In all, the long possession consumed the first 7:20 of the quarter.

The Mustangs added to their lead on another long drive to open the fourth quarter, this one covering 77 yards on nine plays. With Clear Lake blitzing linebackers all night long, many times with great effect, Middletown countered with another perfectly executed play-action pass, Pike hitting a wide-open Rockwell in the end zone from 16 yards away for the score and a 27-6 lead.

"The play-action passes were real effective," Foltmer said. "Their blitzing frustrated us and their No. 52 (Nathan Powers) had a pretty good game ... he was all over the place."

Middletown's defense did a pretty good job too, limiting Clear Lake to 39 yards rushing for the game and just 141 yards overall.